Casket



1954 B. J. SLAUGHTER, JR., EI'AL 2,691,807

CASKET Filed April 12, 1952 r INVENTORS. BERNARD J SLAUGHTER, JR. ByFRANK Z' MU/i'A/Al/AN Patented Oct. 19, 1954 ATENT OFFICE CASKET BernardJ. Slaughter, Jr., Cincinnati, Ohio, and

. Frank T. Murnahan, Dayton, Ky., assignors to The Crane & Breed CasketCompany, Cincinnati, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application April 12,1952, Serial No. 282,062

1 Claim.

This invention relates to a casket construction and more particularlyrelates to the construction of a casket body.

An object of this invention is to provide a casket body formed ofwoodand fibreboard.

A further object of this invention is to provide a casket body formed ofwood and fibreboard sections which is so constructed that the sectionswill not draw apart as the sections age and dry.

' A further object of this invention is to provide a casket body of thistype which is air and water tight.

The above and other objects and features of i this invention will inpart be apparent and will in part be obvious from the following detaileddescription, and the drawing, in which:

Figure l is a perspective view showing a casket constructed inaccordance with an embodiment I Fig. 5 is a fragmentary top plan view'of one corner of the casket body;

Fig'xfi is a view .in side elevation showing a wedging nail used in theconstruction of the casket body;

Fig. '7 is a view in section taken along a line VII-,-VII in Fig. 6;

' v Fig. 8, is afragmentary top plan view showing one end of a blank foruse in forming a top panel of the lid of the casket;

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary top plan view of the top panel in completedform; and

Fig. is a view in section taken along a line XX in Fig. 9.

In the following detailed description, and the drawing, like referencecharacters indicate like parts.

In Figs. 1 and 2 is illustrated a casket which includes a body I and lidsections 8 and 9 hinged thereto.

The casket body includes side panels I, end panels 2 and a base panel 3.The panels are framed by a base 4 and a ledge 5 which extend around thecasket body at the base and top thereof, respectively.

Base 4 includes an elongated end molding It extending along each'end ofthe casket body and an elongated side molding l2 extending along eachside of the casket body. Each of these moldings is provided with ahorizontal groove l3- as indicated in Figs. 2 and 4, in which one edgeof a base panel 3 is received. The edges of the base panel are sealed inthe grooves of the side and end moldings by means of an appropriateairand water-tight cement, as indicated at M.

Each end of each base molding is provided with a sloping slot I6 (Figs.2 and: 4) for receiving wedging nails IT. The wedging nails draw theadjoining ends of the moldings together to form the corners of the baseof the casket.

Details of one of the wedging nails are shown in Figs. 6 and 7. Wedgingnail ll is of H-shape in cross section and includes a central body [8and flanges l9. One end of the central body I8 is provided with asharpened edge 2|, which is the leading edge as the nail is driven intoplace. Flanges l9 converge in a direction away from the sharpened edge,as shown in Fig. 6, so that when nail I1 is driven into the grooves Itto the position shown in Fig. 4, the adjoining ends of the side and endmoldings are drawn firmly together.

As indicated in Fig. 2, one wedging nail Ila is driven into the upperends of grooves at each corner, while a second wedging nail Ilb isdriven into the grooves from below, so that both the upper and lowerends of the corner are firmly held together. The upper ends of slots !6are on the inside faces of the side and end moldings so that when thecasket body is assembled, the nail heads are hidden.

Base panel 3 is attached to elongated skids 22 which may be used tosupport the casket. The skids 22 are attached to the lower face of basepanel 3 and project below the bottom faces of the base moldings so thatwhen the casket rests on the skids, the base moldings are free.

The sides and ends of the casket body are formed by the side panels orplates l and the end panels or plates 2 which rest on the base panel andare nailed to the side and end moldings as indicated most clearly inFigs. 3 and 4. A seal is formed between the base panel and the side andend panels, respectively, by a waterproof cement, as indicated at 25 toform a liquid tight seal therebetween. As shown in Fig. 4, the cementextends beneath the side and end panels to form a seal between thebottom panel and the side and end panels. The base panel is strengthenedby wood cross braces 25 which hold the side moldings in parallelism.

Inside each corner of the casket body is provided a corner brace 21, asshown in Figs. 3 and 4. The adjacent ends of the side and end panelsoverlap, as shown in Fig. 3, and the side and end panels are nailed tothe corner brace, as indicated at 28 in Fig. 3. As shown, corner braceZ'i is so shaped that a space 29 is provided between corner brace 21 andthe overlapping edges of the end and side panels. This space 29 isfilledwith a water proof cement which forms a seal between the side and endpanels, respectively.

As indicated in Figs. 2 and 5, ledge 5 includes a molding 30 coveringthe upper edge of each end panel and a ledge molding 3i covering theupper edge of each side panel. As shown, each ledge molding is providedwith an upright slot 32 in which the edge of one of the side or endpanels is received. Slot contains a. water proof cement which is placedin the slot before the ledge molding is mounted in position so that aseal is formed between the ledge moldings and the Adjacent ends of theledge moldings are mitered, as shown in Fig. 5, and are drawn togetherby wedging nails 34 and 38. As shown, wedging nail 34 is outboard of theslots in the ledge moldings while wedging nail 35 is inboard of thegrooves so that the ledge moldings are drawn together both inboard ofand outboard of the grooves. Nail 34 is received in upright registeringslots 3! in the adjacent mitered faces outboard of the side and endplates and nail 36 is received in upright registering slots 38 inboardthereof. The moldings and skids are formed of wood, while the side, end,and base panels may be formed of composition or fibre board such as thatcommonly known as masonite. The

moldings and panels are coated with water-tight paint to render themimpervious to water.

As already pointed out, the lid of the casket illustrated in Figs. 1 and2, is divided into two sections 8 and 9. However, the lid may be formedin a single section if desired. Each lid section includes base members39 which are joined together at adjacent ends and form the framework ofthe lid section. Base members 39 support cap strips 4!, as shown in Fig.2. 4! in turn support a top panel 42.

Top panel 42 may be formed from a blank having one end cut to the shapeillustrated in Fig. 8. The blank is slotted at the corners as Inaddition, each ledge Cap strips 7 indicated at 43. The top panel isbowed to bring the edges of slot 43 together as shown in Fig. 9. Theedges of each slot are glued to a spline 44. The top panel may be formedof composition board and the splines serve to form a surface to whichthe edges of the slots are firmly glued. The edges of the top panel are.glued or otherwise attached to the cap strips to form the lid section.The cap strips and base members may be formed of wood.

The lid sections 3'! and 38 may be hinged to the casket body in anyappropriate manner (now shown).

The moldings and ledge portions of the casket body are firmly heldtogether at each corner of the casket by the wedging nails on both sidesof the grooves thereof so that, even when the moldings and ledgesections may age or dry, adjoining edges thereof can not pull apart toform cracks.

The casket illustrated in the drawings and'described above is subject tostructural modification without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe appended claim.

Having described our invention, what we claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

In a casket body, a corner construction which comprises a bottom panelhaving a corner with intersecting edges, mitered base moldingsintersecting at said corner, each of said base moldings having a slot inone side thereof in which the adjacent edge of the bottom panel isreceived, meansv for securing adjacent ends of the base moldingstogether, an upright side panel mounted on top of the bottom panelinboard of each base molding, means for attaching each side panel tothebase molding associated therewith, a corner brace member extendingupwardly from the bottom panel adjacent but spaced from the intersectingedges of the side panels, means for attaching each side panel to thecorner brace, and a liquid-impervious sealing material filling the spacebetween the corner brace and the intersecting edges of the side panelsto form a seal between the side panels.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,063,393 Ryan June 3, 1913 ,34 ,5 9 Post et a1. -Aug. 3, 19201,368,460 Siegler Feb. 15, 1921 1,705,436 Zerenga. Mar. 12, 1939 FOREIGNPATENTS Number Country Date 178,258 Switzerland Oct. 1', 1935

